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BLOGMAS DAY 13: FAVOURITE FESTIVE MEMORIES

Ok, so I feel like most family Christmases can be summed up in one of two ways. Either you all get along in a sickly sweet fashion, exchanging gifts and jokes while you eat all of the food. Maybe one of you plays the piano while the rest of you gather round and sing carols as the snow falls softly outside…

Lovely right?

Or perhaps you’re not actually the Von Trapps and your Christmas memories are a little more East Enders-esque with family arguments (usually fought over a ‘sensible’ game of Scrabble) and someone invariably storming upstairs for some alone time with their paper Christmas had left on their chair and an awkward silence left behind.

Hopefully yours definitely doesn’t resemble the latter. I don’t think mine really fits either option – we’re quite happily in the middle of the two. While we don’t usually argue on Christmas Day, we also don’t have carol concerts around the piano (we don’t actually own a piano but that’s besides the point) and our Christmases have definitely changed a lot over the years. When I realised how much they’d changed, I thought it could be quite nice to look back over the years and share with you some of my favourite Christmas memories.

Christmas Day: Aged Two
I think this is my first Christmas I ever actually remembered. Mum and I stayed at my Grandparents’ on Christmas Eve and I woke up in the morning in the spare room to see toy ponies everywhere. I was still horse mad in those days and I spent my whole time either riding my pony, looking after my pony, smothering my pony in love and affection, pretending to be a pony, or playing with toy ponies. You get the idea. Mum and my Grandparents had got me a showjumping Playmobil set that came with several horses and riders, jumps and a trailer and jeep. I was OBSESSED.
When Mum finally managed to tear me away to go downstairs for breakfast I found sooty footprints all over the house and I was so amazed.

Christmas Day: Aged Six
This is one of the last snowy Christmases I remember. I’d had a dolls buggy for one of my presents and we were going up to see our family’s horses and I took my doll in her new buggy. I remember watching the tracks the wheels made in the fresh snow and I was really happy. I’d also bought my pony a Christmas present with my own money for the first time (a plastic Christmas tree filled with treats) and wrapped it up to give to him. He poked his cheeky face over the fence and opened the paper with his teeth. I miss him so much.

Christmas Day: Aged Seven (I think)
I used to do that thing all proper 90s kids did where, on the lead up to Christmas (so for me that probably meant some time around July) I’d look through the Argos catalogue to decide what I wanted for Christmas. I found this toy horse box that I dreamed about for months and months and months. All I wanted was the horse box so when it turned up on Christmas Day I think I nearly cried with happiness. I played with it all day while my family looked on. I think this was also the year both my Granny and Grandad fell asleep in their lunch watching the Queen’s speech.

Christmas Day: Aged 12-ish
I think this was the last time it snowed on Christmas Day. I remember noticing it at about 6pm and being really excited to go outside and build a snowman. There wasn’t really enough snow for that, but I made a fairly pathetic mini one which I was satisfied with at the time. I remember being really happy that my dog got to join in, as I think this was the first time he had ever seen snow and it was so cute seeing his reaction.

Christmas Day: Aged 21
This was the year that I first had a proper full time wage and I was so excited to be able to spoil my Mum and Dad. It was also the year that Mum had been diagnosed with her blood disease and I wanted to make sure I gave her the most special Christmas to make up for it. I saved up my wages for a few months in order to buy my Dad a bridge camera and I bought my Mum an iPad. She cried when she opened it she was so overwhelmed, and to this day I am so pleased I managed to make her so happy!

I could probably carry this on all damn night as the more I’m writing the more I’m remembering, so I’m going to leave it here. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my festive ramblings once again, with only 12 days to go until the big day I am absolutely full of festive cheer. Do you guys have any favourite festive memories? Let me known the comments below! Don’t forget to follow me on Bloglovin’ if you aren’t already to keep up to date with all my latest Blogmas posts!

These are all such heartwarming Christmas memories. The last one gave me goosebumps. I hope you have a lovely Christmas this year, Lucy, and perhaps one day, it'll make it onto your list of favourite Christmases! xMAY | http://WWW.THEMAYDEN.COM